At the East Cobb Pigksin Preview breakfast Thursday morning, high school football coaches took time out from pre-school weightlifting, teaching and other activities to share their thoughts on the coming season with community business leaders.
The breakfast was held by the East Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce at the Indian Hills Country Club. Coaches brought key players and school administrators also attended.
All six coaches from last season are back, after four of the six East Cobb high schools introduced new coaches last year. Here are brief overviews five of the coaches gave about their teams at the breakfast. Kell High School coaches were not in attendance.
Jep Irwin, Lassiter (6-4 in 2017)
The Trojans will be without a seasoned quarterback for the first time in many years. “No one on our roster has any varsity experience,” Irwin said. One of those vying for the starting job “needs to step forward” to fill a leadership role and to provide confidence for the rest of the team.
“We lost a lot of seniors, the skill players on offense, and we will be young in the secondary.”
Lassiter is playing a home scrimmage Friday against Sprayberry at 7 p.m. Season opener is Aug. 17 against Harrison.
Brett Vavra, Sprayberry (2-8 in 2017)
The second-year coach said creating a culture of “old school football” has been the Yellow Jackets’ priority during the off-season, and they’ve addressed those changes in the weight room and with their strength and conditioning program.
“We want to become a more physical football team,” said Vavra, a former Sprayberry player. The team’s motto is “TPW,” or “Tough People Win,” and it’s about instilling mental as well as physical toughness.
Sprayberry was young last season, and graduated nine seniors. Now there are around 30 seniors, and 19 starters are returning.
“I think we have the tools to win some games,” Vavra said. “But we’re not just about wanting to win. We’ve got an awesome group of players who have been working hard. I can’t wait to see how it translates on the field.”
Tab Griffin, Pope (4-7 in 2017)
The Greyhounds reached the playoffs in their first season under Tab Griffin a former Pope player. Senior wide receiver Zack Owens, is a versatile two-way player, and pre-season practices have emphasized how to efficiently use his talents.
“He’s our go-to guy, he’s going to touch the football,” Griffin said, adding that Owens may see less time as a defensive back because of Pope’s grueling schedule. It calls for 10 consecutive games without a bye week.
Pope has 15 starters returning. “We want to take the mindset that we have a playoff caliber team,” Griffin said. “Our schedule isn’t favorable for that, but as I tell our players, that’s life.”
Daniel Brunner, Walton (11-1 in 2017)
After reaching the state playoffs, the Raiders will step into an even brighter spotlight in 2018. And not just because the Raiders have many of their key players returning, including UGA-bound wide receiver Dominick Blaylock.
On Sept. 14, Walton plays host to defending Class 7-A state champion North Gwinnett at Raider Valley, in a game to be nationally televised on ESPN. The Raiders were the only team to defeat North Gwinnett last season. Brunner said keeping distractions to a minimum will be essential.
“It’s a good platform for our kids and branding for our program and for our sport in the state,” Brunner, a former Walton assistant, said of the North Gwinnett game. “But it’s all about the process” and keeping to a disciplined regimen for what could be another banner season in Raider Valley.
Brunner said of 2017, his first year at the helm, “we had a successful season because we didn’t have drama.”
One concern he has is that Walton will be young and inexperienced on the offensive line.
Michael Collins, Wheeler (2-8 in 2017)
“We were rebuilding last year with lots of young guys,” Collins said. But the Wildcats were competitive in some of those close games they lost, and he’s looking for better results this year.
“I love coaching this team,” said Collins, who is starting his 10th season at Wheeler. “They’re young, and they have very high character.”
Wheeler opens the season on Aug. 17 at Lambert and plays its first home game the following week in its traditional East Cobb rivalry against Sprayberry.
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